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The blaze on Feb. 26 started at about 9:30 p.m. and the three-storey structure was “fully involved upon our arrival,” said Keith Doucette, chief fire prevention officer for the Ajax Fire and Emergency Services.

Four trucks and 20 firefighters were at the scene at 52 Quarry Lane, at the southeast corner of Harwood Avenue and Taunton Road. It took about an hour for the crew to put the fire out, Mr. Doucette noted.

Firefighters had to cope with cold temperatures and “lots of ice,” he added.

As it was a construction site, there were 200-pound propane cylinders and “that was a bit of concern for the crews as well.”

The cause hasn’t been determined, while the damage is estimated at $400,000, Mr. Doucette said.

Harwood was closed for several hours as firefighters fought the blaze.

He said the structure will have to be torn down due to the extensive damage.

The building had been used as the sales office for the developer of the site.

The fire was reminiscent of one at a townhouse under construction in the Rossland and Salem roads area in 2011. That fire, deemed suspicious by the Office of the Fire Marshal, caused $3 million in damage to a 12-unit block of townhouses. The townhouses, at the corner of Formosa Avenue and Silvester Street, are within sight of the Ajax Fire and Emergency Services headquarters, at Rossland and Salem roads.

The fire happened on Thanksgiving Day, Monday, Oct. 10.

Mr. Doucette said the earlier fire is “in the back of our minds, but there’s nothing definite.”